Little Piece of Heaven
by TheNightIsYoung
Summary: One-shot. Rose went off, but never found Dimitri. Instead, Adrian found her... and provided her with a little piece of heaven to help her on her way.


"Hello, little dhampir."

_Adrian._

I spun around; gasped when I saw him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I pulled a few favours. Had people watch you. That way, I always knew where you were. I couldn't stand not knowing." Whatever I wanted to reply got muffled by the tight embrace he pulled me into. I felt a sense of security, there, for that moment. It felt wrong, but so very right. He released me, at long last, and I found I'd lost my ability to speak. He smiled fondly at me, and brushed a lock of hair behind my cheek. Then, pulling the sleeve of his designer sweater down lower, past his hand, he used the cuff to wipe away tears I never knew I'd been crying.

"My little dhampir, you've looked far better," he told me, in a soft voice. Dumbfounded, I nodded. "Are you safe? Are you hurt?" I shook my head. "Will you talk? I haven't heard your voice... not properly... for a _long _time."

"You're here," I croaked, after a lengthy pause. It was difficult to say anything. "You're really here." He smiled... not one of his flashing, tantalizing ones that would make any normal girl's heart stop. It was more of a... gentle, fond one. A secret one. It showed his vulnerability; a side of him we'd never really needed to contemplate. No one had. He was Adrian, the badass royal with the rep for sleeping around.

"I am, little dhampir. Always. You were... you were too far away for me to reach your dreams, at first. Grandma's garden was never the same without you there."

It was the sort of shadow of a smile that made a lump form in your throat, and that brought out a thousand emotions all at once. I wanted to sit there and cry against his chest and have his sturdy arms around me. I wanted to laugh with him about minor things, like we used to, before we all got so... caught up with things. I wanted to send him back to the Academy, almost feeling like he was intruding. The emotions swamped me and overwhelmed me so much that I only managed a small choking sound.

"Are you alright, Rose?" he asked me. He'd moved closer, his knees now touching against mine. His hand brushed my cheek. "You look so..." he frowned. "So much older than when I saw you last."

He leaned forward, then, placing the most chaste of kisses on my lips. "We'll find him," he told me softly. "We'll find him for you, Rose." He stood up, and made for the door. Just as he reached it, though, he turned back and glanced at me.

"May I visit you tonight, little dhampir?" he asked. There was a slight catch in his voice, like it hurt him to ask. I wasn't sure why. I nodded slightly. That was all he needed. "Sweet dreams, then. 'Til tonight, my Rose."

I noticed, just then, when he left. He'd left a single red rose at the desk. Slightly wilted around the edges; flaws visible. And then a plain white piece of paper, folded once. On it, read the words _"Just for you, my little dhampir. My Rose."_

*

As I drifted to sleep, I found myself sitting in a darkened attic. There was a shadow, on the far side.

"Adrian?" I whispered. The shadow moved slightly; turned around.

"Rose," he replied, quietly. "You're not yourself anymore. Just look at you." I glanced down. Normally I would have been wearing some ridiculously revealing outfit, and my chotki, and the pendant my mother gave me. Today, my arms were bare, and I wore an oversized, plain t-shirt and some grey joggers. Not his usual standard. "Dimitri's taken a toll on you, Rose." I flinched at the name. Adrian came and sat down by me. He, too, was wearing the most simple of clothes. "You've locked yourself away. This isn't healthy."

"This is your dream," I mumbled.

"Not _mine. _This is _ours_. You just don't want to come out. Stop hiding, Rose. See the light. You look as pale as I do." He reached out, and all of a sudden, there was a heavily curtained window there. He pulled down the curtain; the rail clattered against the wood floor. The sky outside was dark. It was night here, too. A cold white moon hung in the sky, at its fullest. Out on the horizon, water rippled ever so gently.

"Rose?" I looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you see it? Do you see what you've been hiding from?"

"The night?"

"And the day." The sky changed; now I saw a sun creeping up into the sky. "And life, Rose. You came running out here to escape from life."

"Maybe."

He sighed, and we sat in silence for a while. Then, his face brightened. He proffered his hand to me. I looked at him, curiously.

"Take it," he told me. "Trust me." There was something in the tone of his voice that said I should. So I did. I found the scenery suddenly buzzing around us. We were flipping through scenes, like someone had picked up the TV remote and was flicking through the channels.

"Dreams," he whispered. "Everyone's dreams."

"What're you looking for?" I asked. I feared he might try and do something stupid. Eventually, he frowned, and the scenes stopped moving. He pulled me into his grandmother's garden, and said,

"This isn't working!" His brow was furrowed. "Okay, wait here, he told me."

Then he vanished. I don't know how long he was gone, but I grew bored, and after a while, my sadness was replaced by curiosity. Adrian had told me that this was my dream, too. I reached out and touched a rose. The flower withered and shrank away from my touch.

"Oh," I gasped. A fresh spurt of tears came bursting from me, and I collapsed onto the ground.

"Rose," Adrian's voice admonished. "I leave you for two minutes, and you're already killing the plants." He ran his hand over it, and it blossomed again. Then he turned to me, smiling. "I suggest, by the way, you clean yourself up a bit. Hm. I think a dress would work well on you. Maybe that one I wanted to have made for you for the Court. Black. Velvet trimmings. Slit up the leg." He tapped me gently on the shoulder, and pulled me to my feet. His smile grew. "That works well on you... and a necklace..." he tapped the base of my neck. "And your hair... no. Your hair is perfect. He wouldn't want me to ruin it, would he?"

I froze.

"Who?" I asked, suddenly. Dimitri gave me a sideward look. I wanted to interrogate him further, but I was interrupted by a _very_ familiar voice.

"Oh, Rose!" one of them exclaimed. _Lissa_. Tears filled my eyes again.

"Now, now, little dhampir. We'll have none of that. We've missed you."

"We have," came Christian's steady voice. I turned around to face the both of them. "You've no idea what it did to everyone, after you left. He gave me the smallest of smiles, not sarcastic, not sneering. Just _there_.

"Adrian... nice work on the dress," Lissa said. She stepped forward uncertainly, opening her arms. Next thing I knew it, we were hugging each other tightly and sobbing and weeping like best friends who'd been parted for several years. We were; had been... perhaps not years, but it felt that way.

"You two..." Adrian shook his head in disbelief. "Little dhampir, you're messing up your clothes. Knock it off already. We're not all here yet."

"My, my. You've grown up, Rosemarie." I pulled away from Lissa.

"Mom?" I said, in the smallest of voices.

"Who else did you expect it to be? Didn't I tell you, David? Didn't I tell you she'd be like this?" My mom wandered into view, holding hands with a man I'd never seen before. She glanced at me, then at my dress, and then at Adrian. "Really, is that appropriate?" she asked disdainfully. Adrian smiled lazily.

"Young man, do I need to be having a talk with you about coming near my daughter?" the man asked. He was tall, had sharp eyes and a handsome face. My jaw dropped. Adrian looked quite scared.

"No, sir."

"Dad?" I whispered, disbelievingly.

"Rose," he said, smiling. "I asked your mother to name you after a flower. You always seemed such a fragile little thing. I visited you... you were young. Very young. You seemed fragile, but you were the most irritable little kid around. Your tantrums... you gave your mom a run for her money." She swatted his arm jokingly.

"She still does," she said. She looked happy. Lissa looked happy. They both had their guys with them. They were all okay. I... I was still alone. There was still something wrong with this.

"Rose," Adrian said, frowning. Don't get all down. You'll upset the last guest.

There was a pause. No one spoke. A wind blew gently, and then, in a moment, my heart felt like it was going to burst.

That smell...

That smell in the wind. I caught a whiff of it.

"_Am I late?"_ The lilted Russian voice. The strong arms wrapping themselves around me. My voice caught on a sob.

"Roza," Dimitri whispered. His breath tickled my ear; I turned to face him. He was there. Right there. Solid, and real, and... and there. "Roza," he whispered it again, holding my head against his chest. I breathed his smell in. I wanted the moment to never end. He pulled away, at long last, and looked at me, fixing me with a firm look. Then he was whispering words, oh so softly, in Russian, and was kissing me so passionately in between...

My father cleared his throat.

"So _you_ are the one I need to have a word with, then." Dimitri jumped, his expression stricken, as he registered the faces. Then he smiled, and turned back to me.

"I love you, Roza. I always did. I..." the smile dropped off. "We can't always be like this. You'll wake up soon. Adrian's exhausted from running around in people's heads. But, my Roza. Remember this. We can _always_ be together. I'll always be here-" he kissed my temple, "and here." His hands grasped my own and he touched them to my heart.

The picture was fading, and being replaced with the eerie light of dawn. I didn't want to let it go. Dimitri gave me one last kiss.

"Always," he whispered.

I woke up. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I fell from heaven back down to Earth.


End file.
